PREMIERE: Les Yper Sound – RSVP

Today we have another premiere, and this time it’s a supergroup of sorts. Les Yper Sound are comprised of Miles Arntzen and Jas Walton from Antibalas, Beastie Boy collaborator Money Mark, and Sudanese artist Sinkane. All bad ass musicians in their own right, these four got together in a Brooklyn basement and Les Yper Sound were born. Performing the style known as “musique concrète”, made popular in Paris in the 1940’s by recording sounds of every day objects (the group’s name comes from Pierre Henry’s 1967 musique concrète EP), this all instrumental fourteen track record is definitely a cool project. With today’s technology in recording, it seems like this process has creeped into today’s recording process, and on Explorations in Drums & Sax they give a nod to the cheeky, novelty sounds that were ground breaking back then. Recording everything from coins, a coffeemaker, tape head stylus and the like, the songs were built around these everyday items and highlights the drums and sax with built in melodies from said items. Eclectic? Yes. Groovy? You bet.

We would just start with an improvisational sound, do that for three minutes, build a song around it, and then maybe at the end of the whole thing, you can’t even hear that first thing anymore but it’s a part of everything else that happened around it.

“RSVP” is a cover or reworking of sorts of the Money Mark tune “Invitation” from Mark’s Keyboard Repair. This upbeat take is unique and has a tight groove (and the breakdown with the found objects is aces). Part Yusef Lateef, part free jazz, and plenty funky, “RSVP” is intergalactic space travel without leaving our atmosphere. It’s infectious groove will leave you head nodding. Before you know it, it’s time to press play once again, because you can’t just listen to it once. File this under funky jazz with a world influence, and while you’re at it also file it under fire because this is a hot commodity. Funk comes in many different forms, and if you dream it up, it will work. These four have come up with the perfect recipe and homage to the style. This is Figure & Ground Records sophomore release after the Jas Walton/ Alan Watts 10″ Face The Facts. This new release on the label will have a Limited Edition of 500 copies on coke clear vinyl. Check out the track below, and pre-order the entire record after that.